Our Lady of Lamego Remedies

"La Romeria de Portugal" · Lamego (Viseu)

On the top of Mount de Santo Estêvão, on Lamego, one of the most spectacular Baroque shrines in Portugal is raised: Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, with its monumental step by which pilgrims go up in search of remedy for their evils.

Origin and history

In the place there was since 1361 a hermitage dedicated to St Stephen. In renewing it, the Bishop of Lamego placed in it an image of the Virgin with the Child, and Marian devotion was replacing that of the saint. Since the mid-16th century, the cult of Nossa Senhora dos Remédios, which the faithful came to for "remedy" for their ailments, has been documented.

In the 18th century the brotherhood decided to raise a great Baroque sanctuary to host the pilgrims. The first stone was placed in 1750 and the works lasted until the 20th century, adding the park, the fountains, the courtyards and the famous monumental staircase. The original image, from the 15th century, presides over the altar; the processional image was consecrated in 1904. It's one of the great romanies in the country.

The number of steps of the step varies according to the sources (around 686-691); they all coincide in their monumental character.